


The Other Founder

by CaptMickey



Category: Monkey Island, Uncharted
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-16
Updated: 2017-03-16
Packaged: 2018-10-05 14:29:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10310318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptMickey/pseuds/CaptMickey
Summary: His name was either scratched out or burnt off and no history book seemed to know his name, but that didn't stop Nathan Drake from looking into the unknown Founder.





	1. The Enigmatic Pirate

**Author's Note:**

> In my sleep deprived stupor, I realized Nate and Guybrush's "backstory" is pretty similar. So I figured screw it, I'll write it because I would LOVE to see Nate's reaction to reading up about the Mighty Pirate™.
> 
> Goes without saying, but MASSIVE spoilers to Uncharted 4, so just gonna put that warning up now.

Nathan laid on the couch going over his journal as Elena sat next to him and was typing away on her laptop on God knows what, probably that smog thing in China if he were to wager a guess. He skimmed through his doodles and notes, a small giggle escaping because of his purposely terrible sketch of Sam, he kept skimming through his journal when he landed on his drawing of the skeletal Founders. Nate bit his lip as he stared at the sketch, recalling vividly the musty and dust-encrusted room where ten regally dressed skeletal pirates sat, their cards and chalices laid about on the table with the hosts of the party missing.

That had to have sucked, he thought. To be the founding leaders of this grand utopia only for it to fall apart at the seams because their greed for gold overpowered any rationality and even going to far as to betray one another for said gold. But the worst part Nate figured was that History will never know how these great Pirate Captains died... all of their deaths and legacies are left as either unknown or died at sea. 

He recalled their portraits with the splattered 'THIEF' graffitied on each one, some torn and others scratched out or burnt--

"Ow!" Nate jumped as he felt something pinching his arm, he sat up and rubbed his arm, looking at the culprit that was Elena sitting there with her fingers ready to go for round two and a confused look on her face. "What was that for?!"

"You ran off somewhere." Elena chuckled.

"What, off the couch?"

"No, you smart-ass. Somewhere..." She poked at his forehead. "There."

"Oh." Nate closed his journal and rubbed his earlobe. He felt the couch shift as the blonde placed her laptop on the table and adjusted her self to look at him.

"What's on your mind?" She asked, her tone laced with nothing but concern.

Nate contemplated about whether or not telling Elena, but if this last adventure was anything to go by, he figured it would be best to just lay it all on her. Keeping secrets was just as draining as scaling a collapsing building and just... annoyingly convoluted. Plus he promised not only to her but mostly to himself that he was going to be more open... after all, marriages are about trust and helping each other. He moved his journal alongside Elena's laptop and shifted himself, resting his head on his hand.

"It's actually about Libertalia..." He began, seeing her expression shift slowly causing the brunet to quickly sit up and point a finger. "And before you ask, no. It's NOT about the treasure."

"Okay, then what is it about?" She continued asking, half teasingly and the other half seriously. 

"It's more about it's founding... it's Founders, really." Nate scratched his cheek. "They were the world's greatest pirates in history. Feared by all and remembered by many to the point that there are kids film about them which... which is baffling but, whatever."

"But..." Elena tried pushing the subject back on track. Nate frowned and leaned his head back on his hand.

"But there's one Founder that's been bugging me since Madagascar." He confessed. "I know all about Henry Avery and Thomas Tew, well, maybe not to the extent of Sam, but nevertheless I know OF them. Same can be said about Condent and Bonny. Aside from their names, I knew about them all... except for one. And it's kinda bugging me."

Elena had a small smirk on her face as she mirrored Nate. "And this is bugging you because you feel like you didn't meet the completion rating?"

"Ha ha, so funny." Nate playfully rolled his eyes, pausing for a moment and sighing, "Okay, maybe a little."

"Heh."

"But that's not why it's bothering me."

"Oh."

"Sam didn't know much about him either, just that he was a nobody that became a fearsome sword fighter. His portraits show him as probably being the youngest one there... at least, he LOOKED very young. Any traces of his names is gone save for the small bit I saw which was 'Guy' and just... everything about him is a mystery." He began playing with the ends of the draped blanket on the couch.

"He had to be of someone of importance if he warranted Avery's attention." Elena chimed in. 

"Exactly, but the thing is, I didn't even know of him UNTIL I saw his sigil. I knew of the other eleven but not... not his. And I honestly kinda want to know more." Nate sighed and dropped his arm. "I'm not saying I want to go BACK to Libertalia or anything, but... I don't know."

Silence lingered in the room for a bit until Elena nodded. "There's probably a book or something on him." She said, breaking the quiet. 

"You think so?" Nate raised a brow. "Cause I found literally nothing on this guy and I-- WE were in the literal beehive of pirates."

The blond gave a nod and reached over for her laptop, quickly opening it. "Alright, what did you gather about this mystery Founder?"

"What are you doing?" The brunet chuckled.

"I'm researching, obviously." Elena scoffed. "C'mon, describe this pirate. Maybe I can find something."

Nate blinked in confusion and let out a laugh, moving himself to sit closer to his wife as he stared at the screen. "Alright, well, his sigil was a monkey with a dagger, he was young looking. Blond. Blue eyes and blue coat... I think his name was Guy but it was hard to tell. One portrait had it scratched off while the other was burnt to oblivion."

He watched as her fingers danced across the keyboard, typing into the search bar the description. Characters from movies, shows, and games popped up but Nate shook his head at each one. "How about typing 'pirate' and 'guy' and... 'monkey'. Maybe something will pop up."

Elena nodded and typed as such when a name popped up after scrolling through a sea of monkeys dressed as pirates.

"Okay... 'The Memoirs of Guybrush Threepwood'? That sounds... fake, but I heard and saw of weirder things." Elena remarked, a brow raised as she turned to look at Nate. "This your guy?"

"Heh, your guy... clever."

"Thank you."

Nate gently took hold of the laptop, clicking on the link that led him to the book's synopsis. His eyes darted as he read and a smirk appeared on his face. "Yeah. I believe that's our guy."

"Where would you be without me?" Elena teased.

"I can think of a few unpleasant places." Nate joked. 

The blonde giggled as she took back her laptop. 

 


	2. A Quick History Lesson

There wasn't a moment where Nate wasn't found reading the book during any of his free time. If he wasn't going about his job or spending time with Elena, he was almost always caught with his nose deep in the sticky, dog-ear fold, highlighted book that was about the elusive Guy Wood. It was funny, what started as simply wanting to know more about the unknown Founder slowly but surely shifted to genuine interest, and the others most definitely took notice of that.

Especially Sam. 

The older Drake leaned over Nate's shoulder one day and promptly took a seat next to the brunet, stretching his legs out as he looked over. "Whatcha doing there, little brother?" Sam asked, breaking the silence between them. Nate, not jumping to the sudden voice, merely shook his head as he turned the page.

"Reading."

"Obviously. Who is it about?"

"Guy Wood."

Sam raised a brow. "Guy Wood?"

"Yeah, he was one of the Founders of Libertalia... the young looking one with the monkey sigil?"

"Yeah no, I know who he is..." Sam said, admittedly though not recalling that Founder's name but opted to not let Nate know that, "But why the sudden interest in him now? Was there anything we missed back there?"

"No, nothing was missed with what we were looking for." Nate let out a chuckle and bookmarked the book before closing it. "It's just... we knew about the other pirates so well, but this one was a blank. Even YOU didn't know that much about him, Sam."

The older Drake thought for a moment and shrugged, "Yeah, true. But you still didn't answer the question. Why now?"

"Curiosity, mostly." Nate admitted. "But the more I read about him, the more... I don't know. The more I feel like we probably got him... wrong?"

"Wrong?"

"Yeah. Okay so, there was no mistake about what we learned about Avery and the others. They definitely stole from the colonists, Avery and Tew did poison them to keep the gold to themselves, and Avery without a doubt lost his goddamn mind near the tail-end."

Sam nodded, "There's a 'but' I'm guessing? And with this... Guy Wood."

"Exactly. And his name wasn't Guy Wood, actually. It was Guybrush Threepwood."

A snort escaped, "What?"

"Avery and the others just couldn't remember his full name so he went with 'Guy Wood' which made remembering his name easier, he wrote it all down here." Nate said as he held up the book as his source. "But anyways, we got Guybrush wrong. He was a Founder, and Avery DID pick him to help create Libertalia but after a certain point, he branched off."

"He stole the gold for himself?" Sam asked, his eyes widening at the potential of looking for more treasure.

"No. The opposite, actually. He was for giving the money back to the colonists. He was in favor of piling the money as a communal resource instead of keeping it for himself. So when he heard of the Founders stealing the money, he tried acting as a median between the two. It... didn't work out in his favor, but he genuinely cared."

Sam noticed the younger Drake frowning and shifted himself to look at Nate better.

"What's eating at you about him, Nathan?" Sam asked, his voice sounding concerned. Nate leaned moved his hand through his hair and pressed his lips trying to word himself.

"It's weird and most likely me just being tired but... I get him. Like, his victories, his struggles, his life... I understand him completely. I-I can relate on a very personal level." Nate confessed. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not about to go and change my last name or anything. But out of all the historical figures I've read about... Guybrush's story hits home. At least, for me it does."

The older Drake stared and crossed his arms, he wasn't angry or annoying... but he was curious. He let out a sigh and had a small smirk on his face, gesturing for Nate to talk. "Alright, let's hear it."

"W-what?" Nate blinked.

"I want to know more about this mysterious pirate captain. So c'mon, teach me." Sam grinned. Nate chuckled and shifted himself to be in a more comfortable position. 

"Alright, but I'm telling you now it's a very lengthy history. He... he was very detailed. Kinda wish other historical figures were like that, honestly."

At that, Sam let out a laugh.


	3. Sic Parvis Magna

Their history was frighteningly similar, Nate came to learn. 

From not knowing (or in Nate's case, ignoring) about their past and having only their name and drive to keep them going and making a name for themselves, to meeting the love of their life who were both headstrong and completed them (as well as having names that sounded eerily similar), to having a make-shift band of misfits that they happily referred to as family. It was like reading a pirate-version of himself that it honestly scared Nate a little, but in an even weirder way, it was comforting. Nate wasn't the only one to have gone through hardships with his identity. He wasn't the only one that had to go through life without his parents but still managed to come out on top even though it felt like the world was against him. He wasn't the only one that had a driven passion to travel the world and learn new things.

He, hilariously enough, wasn't the only one that had to deal with weird shit that was the supernatural.

Don't get him wrong, there were some minor differences such as having a brother he cared for (even if he wanted to punch Sam in the nose repeatedly after being lied to back in Libertalia) and he didn't have an undead foe that was tailing after him or Elena. Guybrush didn't have the father-like mentor like Nate had with Sully but rather a close right-hand in the form of his first mate, Van Winslow. And Nate sure as hell couldn't hold his breath for more than twenty seconds, let alone ten minutes.

Nate wondered if Guybrush knew the term 'Sic Parvis Magna' too.  

Still, minor differences aside, the rest was similar. 

At least... somewhat similar.

Nate was still alive and avoided death where as Guybrush...

Guybrush didn't.

The memoir ended abruptly the day before the poisoning. His last entry documenting his thoughts of how he felt about everything, even in writing he sounded so tired compared to the first entry he made about Libertalia. But more importantly, the last half of the final entry was basically a letter.

A letter to Elaine.

He wrote over and over again how he was sorry, that he should've been wiser, that he should've turned down the offer even though he wanted more than anything a home for pirates everywhere. That all he wanted was a place for the two of them. If the previous love-stricken entries were anything to go by, Nate could swear there would've been tear drops on the original entry and honestly he couldn't blame him as he felt his eyes sting from tears thinking what he would do in that situation.

Would he have ran away with Elena? Or would he have risked a gamble at trying to make peace with a man who clearly lost his mind long ago?

That was another similarity he had with Guybrush, Nate figured. The compulsion to do the right thing.

Guybrush never had the gold in mind. He was, as it stood, the only pirate of the twelve Founders to have actually given a shit about Libertalia and it's people. The pirate whose parents abandoned him, having his memories practically wiped clean, having honest to God nothing to him but his namesake and his passion to be a pirate and travel wherever his heart desired. The same pirate who risked his life on multiple accounts and not a single shred of documented history to account for him save for his memoirs. The pirate who took a chance that costed him his life just because he believed in a home for those who didn't have one. 

"Nate?" Elena's voice called through. Snapping Nate out of his thought as he turned his head on the pillow to look at his wife.

"Yeah?"

"You alright? You look upset."

"Oh, um... I'm fine. Just kinda over thinking things. Again." Nate answered truthfully.

Elena nodded and closed her book. "Guybrush again?"

A pause and a nod. "Yep."

She knew about the Founder's history. Nate had given her a basic rundown and even she couldn't shrug off the coincidence. "Wanna talk about it?" She asked. 

"There's not much to talk about, just kinda reeling in the information and I..." Nate paused. "And I feel sorry for him."

"Sorry?"

"He took a gamble on something he believed in. And not only did that go to absolute shit, but it cost him everything." Nate explained, frowning a little, "He never got to see Elaine again..."

The blonde also began to frown as she realized shortly what was going on through his head; Nate was putting himself in Guybrush's shoes. And by extension, putting her in place of Elaine. The idea of losing someone close to him... someone he considered family was a concept that apparently was eating at Nate ever since he started reading the memoirs. She scooted herself closer and pulled Nate close, brushing her fingers through his hair to try and ease his worries. 

"I'm sure he felt sorry too." Elena spoke softly, feeling Nate sagging into her embrace. 

"Hm..."

The silence the was in the room wasn't drowning, but it was honestly giving a depressing vibe, and right now she had to try and get Nate to focus on lighter things. An idea sparked in her mind as she continued playing with his hair and she leaned over to look at him.

"Hey, you know what?" She said eagerly.

"What?" Nate muttered.

"I bet you're actually a descendant of Guybrush Threepwood." She gave a playful smirk.

"What?" Nate sat up, his tone shifting to bewilderment which caused the blonde to snicker.

"I can see it now! Nathan Threepwood, Mighty Adventurer!" Elena snorted.

"Oh my God..." Nate covered his face and leaned back down on his pillow as Elena erupted in laughter. "I sincerely doubt I have ANY relations to that guy."

"You know what they say about history." She continued teasing. Nate, instead, playfully shoved the blonde and shook his head.

"Aren't you the smart-ass tonight." Nate chuckled. There was a pause as he placed a finger on his chin. "But you know..."

"Oh my God, I was joking, Nate." Elena sat up, wiping away at the tears of laughter when she noticed Nate having an equally smug grin on his face. But there was no mistake, he was playing with the idea. It could be just mere coincidence and nothing more, or perhaps there was some kind of connection. 

But either way, Nate felt a connection to late-pirate.


End file.
